Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Kestutis Budrys, hoped that “significant progress” be made in EU membership talks with Ukraine by the first half of 2027, BNS reported. He warned that if full negotiations did not begin by 2027 and were not completed in 2027 or early 2028, Ukraine’s EU accession would be “almost unrealistic” by 2030. Budrys…
The Latvian government will need to borrow EUR 3.8bn on international financial markets in 2026 and EUR 4.3bn in 2027, according to Janis Rozenbergs, deputy manager of the State Treasury, LETA reports. He told the budget and finance committee of the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, that the government needed around EUR 2bn per year to…
Estonia’s state-owned energy group, Eesti Energia, will merge all of its electricity business into its fully-owned subsidiary, Enefit, as of 2026, ERR reports. The group will merge its Enefit entities in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as well. The new Enefit will serve more than 560,000 retail customers in four countries. Eesti Energia says that the…
Lithuania’s largest cities are beginning the heating season earlier than usual in 2025 due to colder temperatures and poor weather forecasts, LRT reports. Vilnius switched on central heating on 1 October 2025, while Kaunas will start its heating season on 2 October 2025 and Klaipeda on 6 October 2025, BNS reported. Siauliai and Panevezys will…
The supervisory board of Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), has appointed Raitis Nespors as the company’s new board chairman for a five-year term, LSM reports. Nespors served as member of Vivi’s management board in 2021-2024. Also, the supervisory board appointed Zane Abolina as a new member to Vivi’s board. Marcis Kaulins continues…
Estonia’s Minister of Culture, Heidy Purga, has been elected to the foundation board of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), ERR reports. She is the first ever Estonian on the organisation’s governing body and will represent the EU. The board has altogether 42 members.
The taxable value of real estate property in Lithuania has increased by 90% since the beginning of 2021, according to an assessment by the Centre of Registers, BNS reports. The tax value of residential property has roughly doubled, while the value of other real estate has increased by 60-100% over five years. Property values have…
Most banks in Latvia will be eligible for rebates on so-called solidarity tax payments in 2025, according to the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. The central bank noted that the growth of lending has been appreciably faster in 2025. Therefore, most banks will qualify for discounts on their solidarity contributions, amounting to 25-100%. The new…
Estonia’s harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) rose by 5.2% on year in September 2025, according to Statistics Estonia’s flash estimate, ERR reports. Compared to August 2025, prices fell by 1.2%. The monthly fall was mainly due to a drop in prices for food, non-alcoholic beverages, and fuel. The HICP takes into account spending by…
